(by Travis Aune MSU Founder)
The Twins yesterday hired a new pitching coach. After all the names out there you probably thought it was Mike Maddux, Chris Bosio, or even Carl Willis. However, the Twins chose Garvin Alston of the Oakland Athletics where he served as bullpen coach this year.
Who is Garvin Alston?
Here is a quick Bio of Garvin Alston:
Drafted by the Rockies in the 10th round in 1992 draftMade Debut for the Rockies in 1996
Coached in Oakland Organization from 2005-2015
Served as A's minor league rehab coordinator from 2009-2014.
Minor league pitching instructor in 2015
Moved on to the Arizona Diamondbacks and served as bullpen coach in 2016.
Returned to the Oakland organization this year as bullpen coach for the A's.
That is a substantial bio as he worked his way up to the majors and Sean Doolittle was very complimentary of him which goes long ways. His bio is missing something that is important for me. Not at any level has he served as a manager? I like to see that even if it was at the lower levels. By itself, it is not a big deal, but when you think of the guys that they passed on that is what is disappointing.
What is the real issue for me
Garvin Alston being the pitching coach is not the big story. James Rowson ended up being a good hire, and he might be just fine. However, I am not willing to give Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey a free pass that everything he does is going to turn to gold. How many World Series has he won? How many division titles has he been a head off? The answer to that question is zero, yet many in the media and the known media are giving him a free pass that no matter what he does it was the right decision. He comes off to me as a bit arrogant like he knows something that nobody else does. How about we win something before you get cocky.Alston is someone that you look at his name, and you're like who is he, but of course, I was criticized for the question what King Derek did how dare you to question his decisions. Alston may be beautiful hire, but the difference between this year and last year is there were not names available that would be homerun hired. Chris Bosio three years ago was the guy that Paul Molitor wanted to be the Twins pitching coach, and I can't see a reason why he would not have been a great fit this year. I would be willing to wager that if Terry Ryan were still GM, Chris Bosio would be the Twins pitching coach.
I have never met Derek Falvey yet less spoken to him so that I could be off on this take, and if I am, I apologize. The point of this blog is holding peoples feet to the fire that are involved in Minnesota Sports. The Twins have a lot of good young players, and I want their window to stay open as long as possible. If Garvin Alston does as well as James Rowson did, then I will be proven wrong. If that is the case, I have no problem admitting that I was wrong. I just think the process is more about Derek Falvey than it does about the Team or even Garvin Alston. This is a situation that I have been feeling uneasy about, so I felt the need to write about. I have a good friend that has told me multiple times that I have strong opinions and when I have one I should write about it, and that is what I am doing right now. I hope I am wrong and the Twins are playing in the World Series a year from now.
I just can't, for the life of me, get behind this take. I know we are in a world of hot takes and how everyone needs an opinion, but I truly believe this one is jumping the gun too quickly.
ReplyDelete1) Retread coaches who have been fired from numerous former jobs are not more capable at doing a job than a new up-and-comer would be. Chris Bosio, Mike Maddux and Jim Hickey all had to get a shot somewhere before being offered the chance to become a pitching coach. Just because you personally haven't heard of Alston does not mean he was a bad hire.
2) Derek Falvey was hired to run the entire baseball operations of the Minnesota Twins, but his strength with Cleveland was from the pitching side. The Twins organization, top to bottom, has been AWFUL at developing pitching basically forever. They needed help, and needed to find a way to develop pitching not just for 2018 but hopefully for the next 10-20 years. To look at it in such a small lense, to me, is not only unfair but also misguided.
3) Can you point me to any article that shows Falvey's arrogance? Even one article? You state he is coming off as arrogant, but I haven't seen or heard that happen in any article or any source other than here. If you have one article showing that side, please share it. Using terms like this, that someone is arrogant or knows too much, it almost feels like Patrick Reusse wrote this article. Did Patrick Reusse write this article?
4) If, in 2020 the Twins have made no progress in getting their pitching to be better, then obviously this was not a great hire. We don't have a clue to if this was a good hire without letting it play out.
my point is you are giving him a free pass whitout winning anything. What has he done that should make him from of criticism. The Twins are in a place in their window where in my opinion they would have been betetter off with a veteran pitching coach not someone just starting out. My irritance is more with Falvey than Alston as you and some others want to give him a free pass. The arrorgance is a personal take based on what i have heard you have every right not to disagree. I would desperatly disagree that starting pitching has been as bad as you say. The Twins have made playoffs 7 times in 15 years
DeleteI don’t understand why you keep saying free pass. He hasn’t even had a full offseason yet, and you are talking like he has been in charge for years. The new regime should get a chance for 3-5 years minimum to show they are showing improvement. To expect insane fast turnaround after 1 year is well, insane
Delete" Not at any level has he served as a manager? I like to see that even if it was at the lower levels."
ReplyDeleteAt what level were Bosio, Maddux or Willis managers.
"How about we win something before you get cocky."
While he wasn't the GM with Cleveland, he was given a lot of credit for their success by front office and on-field people in Cleveland. And, I've seen nothing to indicate that Derek Falvey is cocky, but in order to do his job, he needs to have confidence.
And, like Cory, I'm fine with new guys getting opportunities. Just because I'd never heard of him doesn't mean he isn't capable. Just like just because he was hired doesn't mean he will be successful. Obviously Alston met whatever qualifications they were looking for and has earned an opportunity. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Retreads aren't always successful either. Some are. Some aren't. New guys aren't always successful. Some are. Some aren't.
And Willis chose Cleveland. Maddux chose St. Louis. Hickey chose the Cubs.
Bosio's highest qualifications for the Twins pitching coach job so far are: 1.) He's a friend and former teammate of the manager, and 2.) He was pitching coach for the Cubs and coached Arrieta, Lester, etc.
from what I have seen he has no problem taking credit whether he deserves it or not. We don't know the timing on those hires we don't know if they werent going to take twins job over those other jobs.
Delete